High tech metros: Milken Institute

Happy New Year, Cyburbians!!!

If you are reading this at or around the midnight hour......you are enjoying the old "out with the old, in with the new" dance that most of the world does as a New Year rolls from time zone to time zone. If you are reading it on Thursday morning, the first day of 2009, as bacon and eggs (with coffee) sizzles in the background.....hope your hangover goes away!

Katie has informed me that I have to kiss her when the clock strikes midnight. Being an old codger, I was kinda hoping she would watch my ball drop, too.

Seriously.....a very warm Happy New Year to all my friends at Cyburbia.

I am off to kiss my beautiful wife.

PS - She also told me I have to kiss Molly (our Golden Retriever). Anybody know if 2009 is the "year of the dog"? It apparently is in my house.

I was. Just a beer with dinner and then off to bed at the usual 10:30 time. Didn't even hear any of the fireworks or gunfire this year. Our oldest and most nervous dog lost his hearing late in 2008 so we were actually able to sleep this year. I'm afraid he's going to be on "The List" this year.

Happy New Year, All Y'All!!!!

“Death comes when memories of the past exceed the vision for the future.”

Marley, Molly & Us

I have a funny story to share. This happened just a few minutes ago. It might actually be a better fit in some sort of "irony" thread. Story follows.....

In The Dining Room
This morning (New Year's Day) Katie was considering driving over to see the movie Marley & Me. Her plans included driving with her sister to either the small cinema complex in the town of Wauseon, OH, or motoring into inner-ring Toledo suburb, Maumee, and catch the flick at the jumbo cinema extravaganza. To get her somewhat inspired to see the movie she started to search the net for snippets from the flick.

She located a couple advertisements (trailers) and watched them.

In The Kitchen
While Katie was watching the Marley vids, this Bear was frying some bacon. On the menu for today is a locally-favorite salad....."Betty Salad".....that includes romaine lettuce, spinich leaves, boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and crumbled bits of real bacon. The salad was made famous by a Toledo restauranter named Betty Timko. Her estate still sells her special salad dressing in local stores. Betty Salad is very good.......not exactly a healthy salad.....but yummy for the tummy, and a favorite on holidays.

"Check This Out!"
I finished frying the bacon and crumbled it into tiny pieces. Meanwhile, Katie found a trailer for Marley that she wanted me to see. She called me out to the dining room and we started to watch it together.

As we viewed the preview of a movie that illustrates a bad dog named Marley.....our dog (Golden Retriever) named Molly decides that she wanted some bacon. She got her big front paws on the counter and nudged the plate of bacon bits toward her. She managed to devour some of the bits until she knocked over a fork.

Katie and this Bear, watching the bad dog video, looked at each other and exclaimed, "Oh, oh.!"
_____

That's cool....

...ZG was looking at the on-line menu where my son works in Berkeley. There are some scrolling pictures of staff next to the menu. "Hey" she says, "there's Alex!" Sure enough, my kid's image is on the world wide web.

Nice menu, BTW. We plan to eat there today. I can't wait to see him again.

...ZG was looking at the on-line menu where my son works in Berkeley. There are some scrolling pictures of staff next to the menu. "Hey" she says, "there's Alex!" Sure enough, my kid's image is on the world wide web.

Nice menu, BTW. We plan to eat there today. I can't wait to see him again.

I spent a good chunk of my Thursday afternoon driving around to various retail outlets in northern Metropolitan Detroit in search of a Wii console for the wife and I. I have come to the realization that there is not one for sale at any Target, KMart, Gamestop, Best Buy, or Meijer within an 8 mile radius of Birmingham, Michigan... and let me tell you, that is a lot of Targets, KMarts, Gamestops, Best Buys, and Meijers!

Oh well... I guess the money is better served by sitting in my bank account.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve was a working holiday for me, pulled an 8-5 at city hall and then afterwards performed in three old time radio shows at the Fest downtown. Mrs. Maister is always kvetching about how it seems I'm never home to ring in the new year at midnight (I've worked the New Year Fest for the last four years) so this year the moment I got done with the third show I hastily packed up all the equipment and broke some speed limits driving back home. I managed to walk in the door at 11:57! Not only was she surprised by this but it also takes some wind out of her sails for when I work next New Year's Eve! Had one champagne toast and promptly trundled off to bed like some decrepit old geezer after getting his Hot Toddy and Lawrence Welk fix.

Went to bed at a friends house around 2:30 am - wasn't going to drive home after the celebration. Woke up at 8:00 and drove home (Mrs. P had her car there too). I was at the golf course for an 11:00 am round with a pitcher of bloody marys. Crashed around 8:30 last night after traditional cabbage, black eyed peas and ham dinner.

At work now for a few hours of trying to be busy. Very little traffic on the roads this morning.

Hey WSU, go to Best Buy on Friday mornings to look for Wii. The trucks deliver on Thursday nights (at least in our area). That's how I ...I mean Santa... got one this year.

Hey Natski, welcome to the northern hemisphere.

Kjel, hope your enjoyed your Carolina run.

btrage, are you buying earplugs with the bonus (little girls can be very loud, got one too).

RJ & ZG, have fun on the left coast.

zman - drink a it will make you feel better, temporarily.

Bear, Thanks for begining the year properly with a new RTDNTOTO!

bubba, congrats to the dawgs!

To all you Cyburbian Slackers ... Happy New Year! Now get back to work so you can RJ in a couple hours.

"Whatever beer I'm drinking, is better than the one I'm not." DMLW
"Budweiser sells a product they reflectively insist on calling beer." John Oliver

Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO- HOO what a ride!'"